UK – the State

The United Kingdom is our State, the democratic layer that contains all the Regions and Communities.

United We Stand
LIFE’s policy is to promote the most effective decision making we can achieve, and we are as committed to the maintenance of an effective State as we are to the devolution of powers and responsibilities to more local, accountable government. Too much of the decision making today is done from London, and we will change that balance in favour of local democracy. The United Kingdom will remain a vital union that serves to the benefit of all of citizens in every part of the land, and LIFE is committed to the voluntary maintenance of the union.

By the time the 2020 general Election is held the map of the UK will look quite different than it does today. The country will be divided up into self-selecting Communities, which will be members of Regions of their choosing. The nation state of the United Kingdom will remain as the State that the Regions belong to, and it will provide the cohesion and the services that only a nation state can.

UK Responsibilities
The UK will remain responsible for all matters that are not the responsibility of Communities and Regions. Foremost amongst those will be the defence of the realm and the administration of the tax system. Many other responsibilities will remain in the domain of the UK State government, including those parts of the WellFair services that can only operate at a national scale, such as research universities and highly specialised hospitals.

The next General Election in 2020
Subject to approval by referendum in 2019, the 2020 elections for the UK State Assembly, which will replace the current Westminster parliament, will be held using the PE voting system. Every candidate for election will be on a national candidate list, and everyone in the UK will be able to vote for any candidate. By 2020 everyone will have had experience of voting this way because there will have been two Community Assembly elections and one Region Assembly election.